


i'd rather be there next to you

by iwasfollowingyou



Category: The West Wing
Genre: Birthday, Episode Related, Episode: s05e05 Constituency of One, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Short & Sweet, Surprise Party, but it's soft and nice, not much to say about this one
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-08
Updated: 2019-08-08
Packaged: 2020-08-13 06:56:10
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,921
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20170030
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iwasfollowingyou/pseuds/iwasfollowingyou
Summary: josh isn't a fan of birthdays. until he is (just once).





	i'd rather be there next to you

Josh had never been a big fan of birthday celebrations. Even when he was a kid, they always felt awkward and, in some cases, just plain weird. The incident with Joanie and the birthday clown when he turned seven only made it worse. Before his seventh birthday, he hadn’t been a big party kid anyway, but from then on, he pretty much flat-out refused any celebration beyond a few presents from family. It continued into adulthood, too; he would rather no one know his birthday at all, but of course, it was the White House, and they knew absolutely everything about you. So, when his birthday rolled around each year, he had no choice but to grin and bear the celebration.

This year was worse than usual. The mess with Amy’s job and the drama with the First Lady gave him enough of a headache. By lunchtime, he was sick and tired of people mentioning the piece about him. The hundred and first Senator — he would be lying if he said it didn’t fill him with a little bit of pride, but the article was over the top. It had him wanting to apologize to Leo and the president, even though he had nothing to do with it. It was a bad look for them. It wasn’t Josh’s job to be praised for his work; it was his job to do the damn work. The praise belonged to the president, not his staff. Then, of course, came Carrick — fucking Carrick — and Josh’s already bad day was pretty much down the drain.

All he wanted, really, was to go home, have dinner and a beer, and watch some cheesy movie by himself. Maybe call Sam, if he wasn’t too busy. He was lucky that his birthday fell on a Friday that year; it meant that he could take a day to recover from all of the bullshit he had to put up with throughout the week.

His mind was still reeling from Carrick’s resignation, the envelope clenched in his fist, when Margaret told him that Leo wanted him in the Mural Room.

_Great, fucking great,_ he thought bitterly. _What did I do now?_

But when he opened the door, he was greeted with a crowd of people yelling “SURPRISE!” and launching into an off-key rendition of _Happy Birthday_. There was a giant cake, in the shape of a fish, in front of Donna. Josh couldn’t do anything but stare for a second, but he finally regained his bearings and stepped into the room, slipping Carrick’s letter into his pocket as he did. That could be an issue for later.

“I thought I told you no celebrating,” he said to Donna as he walked up to her.

She shrugged, a mischievous smile on her lips. “And I told you your birthday is for _us_, not you. If you don’t want the cake, we’re happy to eat it for you.”

“No, I’m gonna eat the cake.” Once they had finished singing, he leaned in and blew out the candles. Everyone clapped, and someone picked up the knife to start slicing into the cake. Josh stepped to the side and watched.

The room was full of people — the senior staff, a number of assistants, all happy and eager to wish Josh a happy birthday. But there was still something missing, just like there always was. Josh pulled his phone out of his pocket and glanced down at it. No missed calls. He sighed, trying not to feel too disappointed. It was still early out on the west coast. There was still plenty of time.

Donna elbowed him, jerking him out of his thoughts. He managed to pull himself together enough to socialize, laughing and joking with people as they ate cake and drank the provided beers. As far as birthday celebrations went, it wasn’t all that bad. It was far better than his seventh birthday, of course, and better than his twenty-first, too, when his friends had cancelled one-by-one their plans to go out to a bar, and Josh had taken his sorry self down to the convenience store and bought himself some booze.

“Buying your own alcohol on your twenty-first?” the cashier had asked as he checked Josh’s ID. “Some friends you have.”

The party continued later than Josh would have liked it to, but every time he mentioned something about leaving, one of the senior staff would quickly come up with a reason he had to stay. As casual as they attempted to be, it was obvious from their panicked glances at the clock and shoddy excuses that they were keeping something else from him.

“You know I don’t like surprises,” Josh reminded CJ when she told him for the third time that he couldn’t leave yet.

“Who said there’s a surprise?”

“You’re a terrible liar, Ceej.”

“You’ll like this. Promise.” She nudged him lightly. “Just stick around, okay? Trust me.”

Against his wishes, Josh did. He picked at the remains of his slice of cake as he talked with Toby about the budget and the meetings they had scheduled for the next week. Donna chided them for still talking about work, but when Josh threatened to leave if she made him engage in small talk for one more minute, she gave in with a disgruntled sigh.

“The HHS appropriations, what was the deal with that?” Toby asked.

Josh sighed and set his empty plate down on a table. “First Lady’s office. It was, ah… it was Amy, really.”

“She didn’t even talk to legislative affairs.”

“Nope.”

“Is she stupid?”

He shrugged. “Honestly, I’d like to say no. She’s scary smart. But when it comes to this stuff, it’s more about getting her way than doing it the right way.”

Toby shook his head in disbelief. “We work at the goddamn White House, and these people…” He trailed off, looking quite unhappy. Suddenly, though, his expression changed — it wasn’t exactly _happy_, but it was much less Toby.

“What are you looking at?”

Someone behind Josh cleared their throat, and a familiar voice said, “Sorry I’m late. My connection got delayed in Dallas.”

Josh whipped around, and there was Sam, looking run-down and exhausted, but there was a smile on his face. Josh’s mouth went dry, his lips parting in surprise. He tried to speak, but no words seemed to want to come out of his mouth. After a second of awkward silence, Sam rolled his eyes and grabbed Josh by the sleeve, pulling him in and wrapping his arms around his shoulders. Josh all but melted against him, slipping his arms around Sam’s waist and squeezing him so tightly that Sam let out a quiet groan in pain. Josh buried his face in the crook of Sam’s neck, taking a deep breath in.

“Happy birthday,” Sam whispered in his ear. Josh felt tears pricking at his eyes, and he swallowed the lump that came to his throat.

He didn’t know how long they stood there wrapped around each other, but it was definitely longer than would be acceptable. Someone tapped his shoulder, and Josh snapped out of his trance of _SamSamSamSamSam_ and stepped back. He ran a hand through his hair, disbelief still all over his face.

“Hi,” he finally said.

Sam laughed, bright and clear. It had been so long since Josh had heard it in person; phone conversations just weren’t the same. It set Josh’s heart fluttering, just like it always did. “Hi.”

“You’re — you’re here.”

“I am.”

“In Washington.”

“As far as I know, yeah, that’s where we are.”

A giant grin stretched across Josh’s lips. “Why didn’t you tell me, you asshole?”

“That’s kind of the point of a _surprise_, Lyman,” Sam pointed out. Josh shook his head, still not quite believing his eyes. “You can thank Leo and Donna for this one.”

Josh glanced over his shoulder at Donna, who was smiling just as widely as he was. She winked and gave him a thumbs up. He mouthed _Thank you_, but she just waved it away.

Sam was in Washington. Sam was at the White House. Sam was _home_. 

Josh changed his mind. This birthday really wasn’t all that bad.

* * *

Most of the crowd cleared out over the next hour or so, leaving just the senior staff in the Mural Room. CJ and Leo were off to the side, talking quietly. Toby was lounging in one of the armchairs, a beer in one hand and a pen in the other as he scribbled something on a pad of paper.

Josh was the most comfortable he had been in the last six months. Sam was sitting up against the arm of the sofa, Josh pressed against his side with his legs stretched out towards the other one. As Sam chatted with Donna, he absentmindedly ran his fingers through Josh’s hair. Josh leaned farther into Sam, doing his best to hold back the pleased noises that kept threatening to fall from his lips. He barely registered CJ and Leo coming over to sit down until they started talking to Sam, keeping their voices low.

Though he tried to fight it as best he could, Josh could feel his exhaustion creeping in. It would have been so easy to just close his eyes and fall asleep, especially with the way Sam was carding his fingers through Josh’s curls, every once in a while twisting a strand around his finger or scratching lightly at Josh’s scalp. Josh was almost _purring_, he was so comfortable, but he figured that would not be an appropriate sound to make in the west wing of the White House.

He found himself coming closer and closer to drifting off, just catching the shortest bits of conversation between Sam and everyone else — talking about his work out west, the place he had found on the beach that he was in the process of renovating, how he would much rather deal with Congress than an irate businessman any day of the week. The last thing he heard before losing consciousness was Sam asking Toby about how Will was doing.

Some time, though Josh had absolutely no clue how much, had passed when he felt Sam gently shaking him awake. He blinked open his eyes and looked around in confusion. The room was empty save for the two of them, the plates and beer bottles long gone.

“Hey, sweetheart,” Sam murmured, pressing a soft kiss to Josh’s temple. A soft noise escaped Josh’s throat, and he felt Sam’s smile against his skin. “You ready to go home?”

Josh nodded but made no move to get up. Instead, he cuddled in even closer to Sam, tucking his legs in and pressing as much of his body as he could against Sam’s.

Sam laughed softly. “Baby, come on. You’ll be a lot more comfortable in your own bed, hm? No falling asleep in the mural room.”

“‘M tired,” Josh whispered, voice slightly raspy.

“I know. I am too. So, let’s go home and go to bed.”

_Home._ He nodded and reluctantly got to his feet. Sam stood and stretched, shaking out his left arm, which had been pinned under Josh’s weight for the past hour or so. He smiled fondly at Josh and slipped an arm around his waist, kissing his cheek before stepping back.

Josh trailed at Sam’s heels as they left the building; Sam still said goodnight to all of the security and cleaning staff they passed by. It was impressive that Sam knew their names at all, much less that he had remembered them. Try as he might, Josh was not adept at keeping the names of the staff straight. Most of the interns seemed too traumatized to correct them when he got them wrong, and he didn’t interact with others enough to get it right. Sam, of course, was perfect as always.

He almost fell asleep again on the ride home, alternating between leaning against the door and leaning into Sam. Sam reached over and slipped his hand into Josh’s, which wasn’t nearly enough contact for Josh’s liking. As soon as they reached the house and got out of the car, he all but plastered himself against Sam, pressing himself up against Sam’s back and wrapping his arms around his waist. Sam laughed at him again, sending a warm rush through Josh’s chest.

“Just one more minute, Joshua. Be patient,” Sam murmured. He reached back into Josh’s pocket to grab his house key and unlocked the door for them, not even bothering to turn on the lights as they stepped inside. As Josh closed the door behind him, Sam turned to him and smiled. “C’mere.”

Sam grabbed his tie and tugged him in, then pressed his lips against Josh’s. It felt as if he had sent an electric shock throughout Josh’s entire body. Josh returned the kiss eagerly, suddenly feeling much more awake. Sam moved his hands from Josh’s tie up to cup his jaw, then slipped them into Josh’s hair. Josh let out a quiet whine as Sam pulled his bottom lip between his teeth.

“Sam,” Josh breathed out. Sam pulled back, giving Josh a wicked grin. “Missed you.”

“I know.” Sam kissed the corner of his mouth. “Missed you too, baby.”

If Josh hadn’t been quite so exhausted, he would have taken full advantage of the situation to drag Sam to their room — it was still _their_ room, Josh maintained — and make up for six months of lost time. But as it was, he was too tired to do much of anything besides hold onto Sam and return his soft kisses.

Sam gently tugged Josh towards the bedroom. He fixed his lips back on Josh’s for a second before trailing kisses down his neck. Josh groaned softly.

“Sam.”

“I know,” Sam said again. He pushed Josh back until his legs hit the mattress. “Gotta get you into bed, sweetheart.” Josh nodded in agreement, running his hands over Sam’s shoulders as Sam undid his tie and the buttons of his shirt. Sam tugged the fabric off of Josh’s shoulders and tossed it towards the laundry hamper, but it didn’t quite make it. Josh pulled back for just long enough to pull his undershirt off and throw it in the same direction. Sam smiled and pressed a soft kiss to Josh’s shoulder.

It had been way too long. Josh knew he missed Sam, but he didn’t fully realize the magnitude of it until Sam was back home, his gentle touches and teasing kisses and quiet words flooding Josh’s senses and sending him into overdrive. Sam quickly, expertly undid Josh’s belt, then stepped away for a moment to grab him a fresh set of boxers and a t-shirt for bed. Josh yawned widely and latched onto Sam again as soon as he came close enough.

“C’mon, baby, bedtime,” Sam reminded him. Josh let out a huff of frustration but stepped back to change into the clean clothes. Sam smiled and kissed him gently. “There we go.” He nudged Josh into bed, helping him get settled.

“C’mere,” Josh whined, tugging Sam closer.

“Just a few minutes, okay? I’m gonna get ready for bed.” He ran a hand through Josh’s hair. “I’ll be right back.”

He disappeared into the bathroom, leaving Josh alone in the dark room. Josh collapsed back against the pillows and stared up at the ceiling, a soft smile on his lips. Sam was _home_. At that moment, he didn’t even care that it would probably only be a forty-eight-hour trip. Sam was home, and that was all that mattered.

Sam emerged a few minutes later, now dressed in a pair of Josh’s boxers and one of his old Yale sweatshirts. Josh’s breath hitched. Sam was always unfairly gorgeous, but something about him in Josh’s clothes…

“Missed you,” Josh murmured as Sam slid under the covers. He cuddled in as close as possible, pressing his nose against the hollow of Sam’s neck. Sam wrapped an arm around him, securing him even closer.

“Missed you too.” He kissed Josh’s forehead. “You have no idea.”

“Should’ve told me you were coming.”

“Wanted to surprise you, stupid.” Sam smiled. “It isn’t a surprise if I tell you, is it?”

Josh shrugged. “Guess not.”

“Did you have a good birthday?”

He shook his head. “Not until you showed up.”

“I’m sorry, sweetheart.” Sam brought his free hand up to run his fingers through Josh’s hair. “You can tell me about it tomorrow, okay? For now, you gotta sleep.”

Josh nodded, pressing a kiss to Sam’s neck. “I love you.”

“Love you too.” Sam gently tugged at Josh’s hair. Josh tilted his head up, and Sam leaned down and kissed him. Josh made a pleased noise low in his throat, shifting his position to give him a better angle. They kissed lazily, both exhausted, but in Josh’s opinion, it was absolutely perfect.

When they pulled back, he tucked himself back against Sam’s side, draping an arm across Sam’s stomach. Sam kissed his temple.

“Goodnight, birthday boy.”

“G’night, Sammy.”

Sam whispered something else, but Josh didn’t register it, already on his way out. The last thing he felt before passing out was Sam’s lips against the top of his head.

For the first time in six months, Josh slept through the entire night. When he woke up late the next morning, blinking against the sunlight filtering in through the curtains, Sam was still there, his arms loose around Josh but still holding him close, and Josh decided that birthdays weren’t so bad after all.

**Author's Note:**

> so first, an apology for the unintended hiatus i went on for a few months there. didn't mean for it to happen, but i just haven't been feeling up to writing recently. this is one i wrote a little while ago and just cleaned up a bit because i wanted to get something out there. and also, i headcanon august 8th as josh's birthday anyway, so it was kind of the perfect one to post today. as always, leave kudos and comments if you enjoyed


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